Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle on the Podium for the Second-Consecutive Week at Unadilla

2012-08-20 09:01
Round 10 of the AMA Pro Motocross Championship was full of excitement on Saturday as Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Broc Tickle took second overall at Unadilla in New Berlin, N.Y. Tickle led for four laps on his KX™450F before finishing second in the Moto 1, which he followed up with fourth in Moto 2 for second overall. Monster Energy Kawasaki’s Jake Weimer also led Moto 1 before a crash took him out of the contention. Teammate Tyla Rattray had a consistent day on the challenging track to take seventh overall. In the 250 class, Monster Energy/Pro Circuit/Kawasaki’s Blake Baggett still controls the championship with two rounds remaining. Baggett finished on the podium in Moto 1 and finished fifth overall with a 3-5 moto result.

Hitting Full Stride
As the season progresses, Tickle continues to up his game. After finishing on the podium in third overall last weekend, he raised the bar and finished on the second step of the box at Unadilla. In Moto 1, Tickle got off to a top-10 start and started gaining momentum. One after another the leaders started dropping like flies and just past the halfway mark Tickle found himself in the lead. Tickle threw down impressive lap times and started to gap the field. With two laps remaining, Tickle would relinquish the lead, but would keep pressuring the leader until the checkered flag. In the second moto the No.25 KX450F got off to another great start and charged hard to fourth, giving him second overall and bumping him to fourth in the championship standings.

“I was kind of nervous coming into the race,” said Tickle. “I had never done that well here and wanted to turn that around. This year has been all about having fun for me and the more I do that, the better my results have been. If I get all gnarly on myself it tends to be counter-productive. I had never led an outdoor moto ever, so that was fun and I felt really strong. The track was brutal with the rain yesterday, but I think it worked in my favor.”

No Loss, No Gain
Currently in the driver’s seat in the 250 Class championship standings, Baggett still holds a double-digit points lead despite finishing off the podium. A great day for most, was an off day for Baggett as he finished with a 3-5 moto score. He got a great start on his KX™250F in the first moto, but with a track that could easily come up and bite you, he rode smooth to a third place finish. By the last moto of the day, the track had dried out considerably and was extremely rough. Baggett started within the top-10 and progressively picked off riders to finish in fifth. His 3-5 result left him with fifth overall on the day, but he managed to retain the same 24-point lead that he began the weekend with.

“The track was super difficult today,” said Baggett. “I made a few mistakes in the first moto which left me with third. My lines weren’t the greatest and that’s what cost me. I didn’t feel like I could push and get into that zone. I’ll go home and watch the race on TV and see what I can learn from it and come out swinging at Steel City.”

Consistent
Although Rattray earned his first moto win in the 450 class last weekend at Southwick, he wanted to improve on the 20-1 result that left him with fifth overall. This weekend in Unadilla, he was able to finish strong in both motos, despite some bad luck. Crashes littered the front-runners in Moto 1, including Rattray who was able to recover for eighth. He finished ninth in the second moto giving him seventh overall on the day. Rattray is quickly working his way towards the top-10 in the points standings and currently sits 14th without scoring points in the first five rounds.

“My day started good,” said Rattray. “I qualified third and felt good on the bike. I got a good start in the first moto and could see the leaders just ahead. I made a small mistake and went down and wouldn’t have lost much time, but as I was getting up a rider came by and knocked my front wheel sending me down again. It sucks because I felt like I could have won that moto. The second moto I just couldn’t find my groove and the track was a lot rougher. I really like Steel City, so I’m looking forward to bouncing back.”

No Surrender
Motocross can be a brutal sport and has some of the toughest athletes in the world. Weimer showed that on Saturday battling back from a violent crash. In the first moto, Weimer was in position for the win after a great start on his KX450F. He made the pass for the lead and was looking to pull away until he lost the front end on the tricky track and was thrown from the bike. Taking a hard blow and feeling extremely sore, he opted to sit out the rest of the moto. Many thought Weimer’s day was finished, but he had other plans. After being cleared by the series medical staff, he suited up for the second moto determined to salvage any points he could. A 40th gate pick made it near impossible for him to get a good start in Moto 2, but Weimer toughed it out and finished 18th.

“I had a pretty good gate pick and got off to a good start in moto one,” said Weimer. “I went into the lead and about a half-lap later I had a crash that beat me up quite a bit. I didn’t have a whole lot of time to regroup for the second moto and knew it was going to be difficult. I felt I needed to try regardless and just did what I could. I felt like I was riding really good in the first moto, so I’m bummed it ended the way it did. At this level you have to go as hard as you can and unfortunately I made a small mistake, which cost me. “

Racing Against the Track
Not only do riders have to worry about the other 39 riders on course each weekend, but often the track itself can present the biggest challenge. On Friday, Unadilla received a massive rainstorm that cancelled all the amateur races and left the track a soupy mess. First practice saw riders come off the track almost unrecognizable from the amount of mud. As the day progressed the track developed excellent racing conditions, but proved extremely difficult.

Fans
It was no surprise to see fans setting up camp for the day before the morning fog had even rolled out. Every inch of the Unadilla hillside was packed with race fans throughout the day. The pits were shoulder to shoulder as they lined the tents to get a peek of their favorite riders. The Monster Energy Kawasaki tent had one of the longest lines for autographs as Tickle, Weimer, and Rattray spent some extra time taking photos and signing just about every piece of clothing imaginable.

Winding Down
The AMA Pro Motocross Championship heads into a week break before resuming in Delmont, Penn., at Steel City Raceway on September 1, 2012. Riders will be pushing the envelope to finish the season on a high note and take the 250 Class Championship down to the wire.